Maoists kill three in Orissa

Maoist guerrillas on Thursday killed three people in Orissa, police said.

Maoist guerrillas on Thursday killed three people in Orissa, police said.

About 30-40 rebels dragged Henko Singh, 55, and Bisra Singh, 43, from their houses in Langalakata village and killed them in a forested area near the Jharkhand border, Superintendent of Police Diptesh Patnaik told IANS.

The rebels escaped into the forest after leaving some leaflets which said they had punished the villagers for helping the police.

The latest incident came barely three days after the Communist Party of India-Maoist killed three people in the same region after branding them police spies, Patnaik said.

In another incident, about 30 Maoists forced 35-year-old Sambaru Huika out of his home in Odiyapentha village in Koraput district, about 500 km from here, took him to an abandoned house and killed him, police said.

The rebels killed him after he refused to join them.

Maoists are active in more than half of Orissa's 30 districts. Since Dec 2, they have been holding anniversary celebrations of their military wing - the People's Liberation of Guerrilla Army (PLGA).